UAE Provides COVID-19 Vaccines, Food Aid to Syria

UAE Provides COVID-19 Vaccines, Food Aid to Syria

FILE PHOTO: A view shows closed shops as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the old city of Damascus, Syria March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar/File Photo

A UAE plane has arrived in Syria carrying food items and medical aid to help the country in its fight against the coronavirus.

In 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus after it had been closed for almost six years over the Syrian crisis.

Earlier in March, the UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that Syria's return to the Arab fold was "inevitable.“

However, he said that Syria had to hold talks with the US over the Caesar Act, which he described as the "greatest challenge“ hindering joint work with Syria.

The aid from the UAE comes as Syria is witnessing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

Last week, Damascus ordered schools and universities closed for two weeks to try limit the spread.

Syria's health system and infrastructure have been decimated by the country's 10-year conflict that killed about half a million people and displaced half of Syria's population.